{Feast Events!}

These are my next three Feast events + book signings! I hope you'll come see me ~ consider yourself invited.

Great Expectations

chelsea, new york

Tonight when I was leaving Chelsea Market on my way home from work, I spied this young man behind the glass at Dickson's Farmstand Meats carrying a giant roast beef with such a Flinstones meets Dickens quality about it that it stopped me dead in my tracks. Just as he hoisted it up on his shoulder, I popped my head in for a butchery tutorial and learned that this cut, made of a whole hind leg of a cow, is called a steamship round.

From the quick snap I shot, you can't really grasp its girth or why its name is so befitting, but its presence demanded my attention. The gents responsible for this fine butchery were happy to tell me how this cut goes from slaughterhouse to supper table by way of their smoker. When I asked exactly what it would cost me to have this as the centerpiece at my holiday party, they started calculating.

"There is the per pound rate, plus shrinkage, plus the magic that happens in the smoker...roughly $500.

It's not every day you can get magic by the pound at the butcher shop, crafted by noble artisans none-the-less, so it seems like a fair price. But for those of us whose budget is more Bob Crachit than Ebenezer Scrooge, they are slicing it up as roast beef and selling it by the pound all week in their shop. Just in time for a old Fezziwig's Christmas Feast.

Let's Talk Turkey

I'm not exactly sure when my baby brother's culinary prowess surpassed my own, but moments ago on the phone with him, it became clear that it might have happened. He, the analyst bachelor, has his turkey day game plan firmly in place {Wednesday night, grind cranberries for relish; brine turkey. Thursday, up at dawn to stuff turkey and roast..} while I, the family food guru, haven't decided what we're having for breakfast tomorrow, much less for a meal that's still two days away.

Thanksgiving, by most serious cook's standards, has already begun. There are pies crusts to roll, breads to bake, birds to brine. And believe me, I love these things, I just can't seem get my feather's ruffled about a meal that I've already had twice this year. I've heard it called practice thanksgiving, {an intriguing concept, where friends gather to "practice" what they are making for thanksgiving on each other--what fun!}. So you could say that my friends at the Food Network Magazine and I were practicing Thanksgiving the entire month of July, carefully crafting our recipes for our Turkey Spreads {mine is the Turkey for Small Gatherings, on p. 151}, making 50 versions of mashed potatoes, and perfecting our centerpiece dessert. I practiced again on camera a couple of weeks ago on Good Morning America Health, and later devoured our mini feast in true turkey day fashion.

Still, ten minutes on Facebook tonight told me too many people have not been practicing enough, and may need just a little help. Luckily, those recipes we mastered months ago are right at my finger tips, and right at yours too, should you still be in the market for ideas. Here's the gameplan {click through for recipes}:

The Turkey:

For Grown Ups: Turkey with Glazed Chestnuts, Parsnips, and Mushrooms; A Please-All for a Crowd: Roast Turkey with Gravy

The Sides:

The Mashed Potatoes {50 versions!}; The cranberry relish

The Sweets:

Meyer Lemon Cranberry Bundt Cake, Spiced Apple & Pear Pie, Deep Dish Plum & Almond Pie

The Leftovers:

Sweet Potato Day After Dip